I've read on here where guys use vinegar to dissolve rust. Would it work in a gas tank? I have a small O/T gas tank that is just ever so slightly starting to rust, and I was wondering if I could pour some vinegar in to dissolve the tiny bit of rust in it. Thanks, Mike
just throw in some muratic acid, mix it 50/50 and wear gloves and something to cover your eyes should only take about 5-10 minutes to kill the rust
I know it works for a radiator, but I wouldn't chance it with a fuel system. You might be better off geting the gas tank repair kit from The Eastwood Co. It cleans and re-seals the tank, locking in any rust with the re-sealer. Good luck man.
I use Muriatic. Available at Lowes or Home Depot. This stuff really cleans the tank out. Just remember if the tank is marginal it might look like a screen door after the muriatic does it's job. Cheaper to just buy the lining material from Eastwood and get the muriatic yourself.
50/50 with water (pour the acid into the water NOT the other way around) use plastic bucket. FWIW I have a friend who used the "Eastwood" lining kit and it came loose when used with the 10% ethanol mix in a bike tank. NOW, he's got to get that junk outa there......
Some advice I rec from a hambr is to load in some glass shards from a broken windshield, strap it to the front of a cement mixer and let it run for 2 hours.
Thanks! The rust is just enough to make the metal red. You can wipe most of it off with your finger. I've heard more bad things about tank liners than good. What I was always taught was that if you kept good gas in the tank you wouldn't have rust, even if the tank wasn't full all the time. I think I'll rinse the tank out with mineral spirits before I attack it with the muratic to get all the varnish from the rotten gas out.
ANY acid will dissolve the rust (iron oxide). Vinegar has acetic acid in it and that is the active chemical that works on the rust. Muriatic is also known as swimming pool acid, both are just diluted hydrochloric acid. Phosphoric acid will also work. Any acid will do the job. I would use stronger solvent like lacquer thinner before the acid, as acid will do nothing to remove the old varnish. Plenty of water rinse and then a quick neutralize with baking soda solution. Otherwise that fresh bare steel surface will flash rust quickly. You can use an alcohol rinse last to remove water and then dry quickly. Do all this and your tank will be good as new, at least areas that are not too thin.........
You answered my ethanol question. Drop a bunch of steel nuts in there and shake it around first to remove the loose stuff before adding any cleaner. I wouldn't worry about vinegar in the tank. Let it dry out before putting gas in. You probably get a lot more strange stuff than you realize from your local pumps.
and another thing you can do to clean rust out of a small gas tank is put a hand full of gravel in the tank with some water and shake the hell out of it.. then rinse it out with water then some alchohol usually works pretty good... also you could fill it with evaporust... but that stuff is pricey +EDIT+ der to me for not looking up 2 posts to see someone already said something about rocks / nuts lol
Thanks for all the advice guys. This tank has set for about four years, and when I looked in it last fall there was no rust. Now it has a sort of red velvet fuzz that MAY come out with the LT rinse. Now I'm good to go if I have to kill the leftovers. Ironic that I worked in a plating shop about 40 years ago, and SHOULD have remembered all this. Thanks again, Mike
Go by a cycle shop and by the tank sealer kit. It has cleaner and sealer in one kit. If you clean your tank by any of the advised methods you will need to seal it anyway. I know. You should get a kit for about $40. Eastwood also sells tank sealer.
rust kutter at tractior supply 50 clams a gallon pour it in and rinse it out a few days later and never look back.b.
Sounds exactly like a '76 CB750 I bought cheap one time. The thing had been rode in on vapors, parked and never touched. Ten years later I get it home and pop the lid on the tank and see red velvet growing in there. No scales, no pits just more red carpet than an Irish hooker. After I got the carbs back on it all I did was install a good filter and ride the hell out of it. I had to pop the bowels off the bottoms of the carbs once to clean out the really fine stuff that got through the filter. After about 3 tanks of gas ran through it it looked new inside. If you go the muriatic acid route don't get it on your paint, (assuming it's a bike tank) or chrome, it hates chrome. Do it outside, do use good gloves, don't breath the vapors, (that's an experience you won't soon forget), don't even open the jug without eye protection. I keep lots of throw away rags handy and it's probably a good idea to have a water hose handy in case you have a spill. I've done lots of bike tanks with MA, it's easy and you don't necessarily have to seal the tank after. I've mixed a quars or so of kerosene and a bottle of Wal-Mart generic STP and coated the inside of the tank to hold it till I was ready to use it.
2nd on that 10% ethanol mix.It will not happen right away but it will happen.It releases from the tank and contaminates the entire fuel system.
I second the acid. Mix it 50/50. It will cut rust like a hot knife through butter....Test the tank once your finished to make sure it doesnt leak....
The Jalopy Journal
